Spotting New York public jobs the week they start.
Bid lists tell you which projects might happen. Certified payroll tells you which ones just did. Since New York started collecting payroll electronically from every public‑works contractor, a first payroll filing is one of the earliest public signs that a crew is on site.
What changed
Starting December 31, 2025, contractors and subcontractors on projects covered by Article 8 of the New York Labor Law have to submit certified payroll to the state Department of Labor electronically, through its Certified Payroll portal on MPWR. Payroll has to be reported every 30 days for the life of the project.
Article 8 covers public work and some privately funded projects that carry prevailing wage. It all goes into one statewide system, and the Department publishes the submitted payrolls on New York's open data portal, data.ny.gov.
The rules at a glance
| Who files | Every contractor and subcontractor on an Article 8 project |
|---|---|
| Since | December 31, 2025 |
| How often | Every 30 days |
| Where | NYSDOL Certified Payroll portal on MPWR |
| What's reported | Each worker's hours, days, occupation, wage rate and supplements, plus the project and contractor |
| Published | Submitted payrolls, on data.ny.gov |
Source: the Department of Labor's pages on public work and prevailing wage and electronic certified payroll.
Why a first payroll is a start signal
A contractor files payroll for a project once people have been paid to work on it. So the first filing from a contractor on a project means that contractor's crew has been on site. About 76 contractors a week file their first payroll on a New York public job.
Each start comes with useful context:
- The contractor, and whether it's the prime or a sub
- The project name and the public owner, such as a town, school district or state agency
- Where the job is
- When the project is expected to end
- Which trades were on the first payroll, like operating engineers, laborers or teamsters
Who it's useful to
- Equipment rental. Operating engineers on a first payroll mean machines on site. Heavy and highway, sitework and paving starts are where rental demand shows up first.
- Staffing. Prevailing‑wage jobs need tradespeople in specific classifications. A new sub that just started, or a prime from out of state, is where crews run short.
- Suppliers and service firms. Portable toilets, fencing, traffic control, testing and materials all follow a job breaking ground.
- Insurance and surety. A sub's first payroll on a large public job is a good moment to check its certificates and bonds.
Why it's hard to use raw
The published payroll data is one long stream of filings. The same contractor files again every 30 days on every project it's working on. To find starts, you have to work out which contractor‑and‑project pairs are filing for the first time, then tie each one back to the project, the owner and the trades. That's the part Prevailwire does every week.
Common questions
Does the published data include workers' personal details?
Prevailwire uses only the project, contractor and trade details. It doesn't include individual workers' names, wages or personal information.
Do private projects show up?
Only privately funded projects that are covered by Article 8. Most entries are public work for state agencies, towns, counties, school districts and authorities.
How do I get this week's starts?
Prevailwire's Monday issue lists every contractor whose first certified payroll on a public project landed in the latest payroll week, with the project, owner, location, end date and trades. Get a free sample issue.
See the latest project starts.
The free sample has 15 real starts from late October, with the owner and the trades on the first payroll.
Related guides
- New York's public work contractor registry, explained
- New NY contractors with no workers' comp on file
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check current rules with the New York State Department of Labor.